


Celestial Influence VI

by Aweebwrites



Series: Celestial Influence [6]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dragons, Epic Friendship, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2020-07-29 16:10:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20085043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aweebwrites/pseuds/Aweebwrites
Summary: Three month's passed. It's about time the team got together again.





	Celestial Influence VI

Three months have passed since the disappearance of the ninja and Ninjago has been prospering- that is until villains realised there was no ninja to stop them and attacks all across the continent happened daily. Certainly the other elemental masters stepped in, some doing so reluctantly but as great as their fighting skills and powers were, they weren't the ninja's level and only hot the villain half the time. The only fighter out there that almost always got the villain was Samurai X but Pixal was only one person and the villains were many. People were torn. They still thought that they were better off without the ninja but others were tired of the high risks and damages. Without Ninjago's heros around, things became… Difficult. People lost hope. There were many who tried to find the ninja, tried to convince their old Sensei to bring them back but he couldn't help them, even if he wanted to. The ninja's locations were unknown to all but themselves. But he had confidence they would return when they were ready.

_ He had to. _

_____________

"Ready boy?" Kai asked as he held a large ball of semi cooled lava in hand, grinning at the dragon no bigger than him that was made of red fire, scales looking like fine cracks along his skin.

Said dragon gave an affirmative growl, flicking his tail side to side as he crouched, horned wings spread wide.

"Alright." The fire elemental grinned then tossed the ball hard, leaving it to rocket into the Forest of Tranquillity.

Flare was quick to dart after it, his wings flapping quickly, leaving a trail of red fire as he caught up to the lava ball. He opened his maw, ready to catch it- when a blur of orange snatched it. Flare gave a confused sound as he looked around, hovering in place. He looked back to the Temple of Fire then noticed the orange form of his sister flying back with the ball in paw and Flare gave a protesting whine.

"Oh boy." Kai chuckled as Spark flew before him, dropping the ball then dropped on all fours, her tail wiggling eagerly as she looked at her creator, wanting praise. "That wasn't very nice Spark." He says as Flare landed then rushed over to him, burying his face into Kai's abdomen as he chittered and whined.

"See? You've made Flare upset now." Kai says, stroking the red dragon's scales, between the bumps on his head that suggested growing horns.

Spark's wings drooped at being reprimanded and seeing her brother's unhappiness. She looked down at the ball then took it up in her maw and nudged the red dragon. Flare looked back at the orange dragon then blinked once she dropped and nudged the ball towards him. Flare turned away from his creator then hesitantly turned to her. She settled on her stomach with her wings pressed flat to the ground, showing she meant no harm. He then looked at the ball then at her before walking over and sniffing at the ball. He then moved passed it and nuzzled his sister with a soft, forgiving croon that Spark eagerly returned, her tail wagging happily. Flare then picked up the ball and turned to Kai now, tail wagging eagerly, making the fire elemental chuckle.

"Good job." He praised then looked over to Spark. "You too Spark. Both of you can keep playing but don't go too far- and try not to set the forest on fire again." He told them and they chirped then took air, Flare tossing the basketball sized ball at Spark who wacked it with her tail and they both flew off to get it.

Kai shook his head fondly then walked off the bridge into the temple he's called home these past three months. He's done some renovations so it actually looked like a temple. It was one big space because walls were choresome, especially when he had no affinity for earth. The only reason he could slightly manipulate lava was because of the heat it held. He walked towards the high platform and up the golden steps there towards his bed. It was more of a very cozy nest if he were to be honest. It took a while to get the soft materials to not catch fire just from the heat of the temple but he managed. He made four separate nests at the base of the platform for the creation of his fire, his dragons. They were made when he spent his first week on his own messing around with his new powers, undergoing trial and error. His intentions were to just make fire shaped dragons, not actual dragons but he had them now and he loved them to bits. Speaking of…

"Heath, Solaris really?" Kai sighed at the blue and almost golden looking dragons that laid sprawled out in their large nest.

Solaris made a curious sound as Heath only grumbled.

"Your nests are just as big." Kai says, putting his hands on his hips. "Go on, shoo." He fanned them off, golden bracelets glinting as he did.

They grumbled but moved, climbing down into their own nests. Kai flopped down into his with a sigh, staring up at the sky through the open skylight directly over all of their nests. Rain wasn't a problem. It always evaporated before getting anywhere remotely close to the temple. The heat was that intense. Not that Kai minded or could even tell. He just knew that the volcano the temple was attached to was quite happy with his presence. It has erupted once or twice but it shows no sign of sleeping. The sky was getting darker. The sun was setting. Today was the day. Each week, they all reserved one day to give a sign that they were ok. They… His friends. The ninja.

Could they even call themselves that anymore? He didn't know. But he missed them all. He reached a hand up towards the sky, focusing his powers to send fire streaking lightly across the sky once the time was right. Then he waited. He doesn't think he'd ever get over the consequences that came with earning this power but he does know that he's willing to work towards at least trying to make it up to everyone.

A small smile tugged his lips once he notices the flashes in the sky from Jay. It was nice to know that he was alright. But he couldn't help but wonder if he really was. He was hit harder than all of them after all. He watched as the moon slowly peeked over the skylight growing full as it shone down over him. Zane was alive and well. Good. He missed the Nindroids logic and wit. Yes, he was a little upset that he hid it from them, the fact that they've taken lives but… He understood why. The full rainbow appearing around the moon brought relief to his heart. Nya was also ok. He wasn't used to being away from her for so long but they both needed a break, needed time alone. He knows that he's kinda overprotective but you can't really blame him. Not when they grew up alone. Ah… They should really check in on their parents...

The low rumble of thunder filled his ears, a clear sign Cole was thriving. He liked to imagine that wherever Cole was taking a break had cake available 24/7 but the chances of that is unlikely. He was pretty sure none of them were near any city, village or anywhere with a population. The bright aurora travel across the sky made him smile a little. Lloyd's alright too. Good. He was glad. He really didn't want to leave him alone. He was just as much of a brother to him as Nya was his sister. He sighs softly as he watched the brilliant streams of light dance on then ebb away. He missed them. He blinked once he spotted Flare out of the corner of his eyes, looking at him with big golden eyes. He turned over, looking at all four of them as they gave him large eyes before he sighed.

"Fine. You can sleep with me for the night." He caved then found himself in the middle of a dragon pipe, all four of them nuzzling him, purring happily. "Yeah, yeah. You're welcome." He smiled, stroking their snouts.

Heath lifted his head then growled, covering his body with his intense blue flames and Kai sat up, frowning as the other three followed suit, glaring at the space behind them, at the passageway below that lead to the empty back of the temple he hadn't figured out what to do with yet.

"Woah, easy. I'm a friend, not a foe." Kai gasped at the familiar voice then pushed his way forward, past his overprotective dragons.

"Cole?!" He gasped, seeing the Earth ninja standing there with two skulkin behind him.

"Kai?!" He gasped, eyes wide before he grinned. "Kai!" He yelled, running towards the fire ninja as said ninja hopped out of his nest, floating down to meet him halfway.

"Cole! Boy am I glad to see you!" Kai laughed as they hugged tightly.

"You took the words right out of my mouth! So how've yah been?" Cole asked with a grin as he pulled back to look at his friend.

"Not bad, not bad. How'd you find me though?" Kai couldn't help but ask.

"Coincidence! I use the old passageway between Ninjago and the Underworld every once in a while. I ended up there, the skulkin kinda immediately declared me their leader and I rolled with it." Cole shrugged, gesturing to his two generals Kruncha and Nukal. "They mentioned something about Garmadon but eh." He shrugged.

"The Underworld? Not bad. I forgot about that old passage. At least I know what to do with the area now. I've been living here the whole time with these guys." He says, gesturing to his dragons as all four approached, their flames low but they were still wary of the newcomers. "This is Flare, Spark, Solaris and Heath." He introduced and Cole looked over the multicolored dragons with an impressed look.

"Nice. I didn't know that more dragons lived in Ninjago." Cole says, crossing his arms.

"There aren't. I sorta made them with my powers." Kai shrugged, a grin on his face.

"Really." Cole says, intrigued. "That's pretty cool. So you're dragon king now?" He asked, gesturing to his clothes.

Kai looked down at his shirtless form with gold bracelets on his upper arms and wrists, at his dragonscale necklace, at his red ripped jeans tucked into high black boots. He adorned gold earrings and a thin circlet just under his bangs that dipped down to the middle of his forehead in a V shape. All that combined with the fur lined cape must have given him that impression.

"Er. Not exactly. I found an old mine in the forest full of gold and lava. I messed around and kinda just… Made these. Then the dragons eat animals and brought this pelt back so i thought why not? Solaris burned my shirt on accident while figuring out her powers so yeah." Kai shrugged then eyed Cole.

"So what about you Mr. Grim Reaper?" He asked with crossed arms and an arched brow.

"I thought why not go with the flow." Cole shrugged.

He adorned a black cloak that had the hood down as well as a black tank top and black skinny jeans that held several chains and glinting metal with matching combat boots to top it all off.

"I'm in the Underworld, I have a Scythe so why no dress up for the fun of it?" Cole grinned and Kai laughed.

"Good point." Kai nods. "Come on. We have a lot to catch up on." Kai gestured to a nearby stone bench and both males walked over to it.

___________

"... You should visit sometimes." Cole smiled after telling him all about his time in the Underworld.

"Probably. Spykors still give me the creeps. Especially with how big they can get." He says with a grimace stroking Heath's head as he laid his head in his lap.

"They won't bother you as long as I'm in charge, don't worry." Cole smiled, stroking the ever excitable Sparks' head, leaving her purring happily.

"Man, I still can't believe I missed you using the passageway." Kai chuckled as he leaned back against the bench.

"Well you weren't always the sharpest tool in the box." Cole chuckled.

"You didn't notice me this whole time either." Kai pointed out and Cole laughed.

"Fair point." He hummed then sat back, a comfortable silence settling between them.

That silence gave way to a mutual thought.

"I've been thinking…" Kai spoke quietly.

"That we should check up on the others?" Cole asked and Kai grinned and nodded.

"Yeah! Exactly!" He says eagerly then took Heath's face in his hands, nuzzling the dragon's snout with his nose. "I mean, three months is enough time to at least visit, right?" Kai asked, looking to Cole as Heath watched Kai unimpressed.

"I think so. The real quest would be finding everyone." Cole says, and Kai nods.

"I think the only place Zane would go is his pop's old place." Kai says, thinking aloud.

"I wanna say Jay's at his parents' junkyard but I don't think he would be there. I mean, I'm pretty sure this whole mess killed everything between me and my dad after all." Cole says sadly.

"I doubt it. If he really thinks any of what happened was willing and intensional then I'll '_talk_' some sense into him." Kai says determinedly and Cole shot him a thankful smile. "Lloyd's the one we need to find. Once we do, he'll find everyone else." He told Cole who nodded.

"We can use the Aurora to find him." He told the fire nin who then frowned.

"But that means waiting a week." Kai pointed out and Cole frowned, rubbing his lightly stubbled chin.

"How about we use the week to try and find the others. If we don't then we'll find Lloyd instead." Cole suggested.

"Sounds like a plan." Kai grinned then grimaced when Heath licked his face with a forked tongue, just to be an asshole. "Heath!" He yelled as Cole laughed.

_____________

"Alright. I'll be gone for about a week but I'll be back. Heath, you're in charge." Kai told his dragons eat the next day, all but Heath looking sad to hear he was leaving. "Don't worry. I'll be back soon. Until then, don't leave the forest. There's plenty of animals in the forest for you all to eat. Stay safe, ok?" He says, stroking them all, pausing once he came to Heath, smiling at the blue dragon.

"Don't worry Heath. I know you'll miss me, no need to show it." Kai chuckled, stroking his smooth scales.

He wasn't very comfortable with leaving them alone. They were babies when he first created them and they still are, only learning how to fly a month back. He gave them all a lingering look and a heartfelt goodbye before turning to Cole.

"Let's go find Zane." He says and Kai nodded, both of them taking air.

Kai heard the goodbye calls of his dragons and felt his heart clench. Here's to getting this all done in a week.

____________

"Nice to know this place hasn't changed." Kai says, his breath coming out as fog as he and Cole walked through the Birch forest, their boots crunching in the fresh looking snow.

"Yeah." Cole agrees, keeping his ears open. "There it is." He spoke up, spotting the thicker tree.

"What's that?" Kai asked, noticing something white dart by up ahead.

"I didn't hear anything. I hope it's not those pesky treehorns again." Cole says, looking around warily.

"No. It looked like some kind of bird…" Kai says with a friend as they came to a stop before the tree house.

"My Falcon to be exact." They whirled around once an awfully familiar voice spoke then gasped, seeing Zane smiling shyly behind them in a full suit of white, his trench coat holding white fur around the hood that matched the tops of his shoes.

"Zane!" Both males yelled, rushing over to hug their friend.

Zane couldn't help his smile as he hugged them back, missing them so.

"It is good to see you friends. I had feared…" He trailed off as his smile fell.

"Ah ah! None of that crap. You're our friend and you always will be." Kai huffed but grinned as the white falcon landed on Zane's shoulder, looking like he originally did- but white with ever glowing blue eyes. "I have a feeling we have a lot to catch up on." He says lightly and the Nindroid smiled hopefully.

___________

"So wait- am I the only one who hasn't been testing out my powers?!" Cole asked as they all sat in the trunk's hollow, sipping hot cocoa.

"It appears so." Zane mused with a small smile as the Falcon sat comfortably in his nest not too far away, preening its white feathers.

"But I don't get it. No offense Zane on what I'm about to say but it's the best way I can express what I mean." Kai forewarned and Zane nods his permission. "The Falcon was just a piece of machinery on your bike. A tool even. How did it go from transformer bird to- well… Realistic bird?" He asked, confused as he set his empty cup aside.

"I can't provide you with the specifics unfortunately. I had started to feel… Lonely after a few days so I had gone to the Samurai X cave and retrieved my friend. It only reminded me that I am not particularly fond of its new design. I was hesitant to attempt to use my powers on him but I wanted him to feel like I did. To feel…" Zane struggled a moment to find the right word, meeting their eyes as he did. "Alive." He whispered with awe and both Kai and Cole shared a look, minds thinking the same thing.

They hadn't stopped to think of the physical changes their new powers may have caused though they should have. After all, Lloyd had horns when he activated his powers. Zane still looked like a Nindroid but he felt… Different, alive. They didn't feel any different. Although… Now that the topic crossed their mind, ever since Kai had unlocked these powers, there's been a warmth that has settled itself into his chest. It felt alive, flickering like flames but it was subtle enough to be easily forgotten. Cole had also felt more solid than ever. It made him feel almost invincible.

"I took that feeling and channeled it into my Falcon and it became like this." Zane finished and they smiled, happy for him at least.

"That's really cool." Cole smiled as he set his empty mug down. "I didn't think you'd have food items around being a Nindroid and all." He commented, noticing the plates neatly stacked away.

"About that… While it still isn't necessary to eat, it appears that I have somehow regained my previous abilities to consume food items. I discovered this during an internal assessment." Zane told them as he stood, taking up the cups as he stood then walked over the small sink to rinse them. "I'm curious to learn what changes these powers have brought forward in each of you physically. Certainly Lloyd has horns but something tells me the changes are much more subtle. Perhaps we could find out once we're all in one place again." He suggested and Kai grinned.

"Funny you should mention the others. We're planning on finding everyone. It'll be just a checkup but if we're all in agreement, we can be a team again." He shrugged and Zane looked hopeful.

"To be honest, I… I have missed you all. I'd very much like to be a team once more… If everyone else is in agreement…" He says with a one shouldered shrug, not very confident they would want him with them still.

Not after how he had lied…

"Heck yeah!"

"Of course!" Were Kai and Cole's immediate responses, a grin adorning both of their faces.

"We just need to find the others. Nya and Jay. We'll find Lloyd whenever he uses his aurora again." Cole says, resting his cheek in his hand.

"Nya and Jay…" Zane says in consideration. "I doubt Jay would stay at his parent's place but it's the only place I could think of. I'm positive he wouldn't be anywhere near New Ninjago City." He says and Kai nods.

"We were thinking that too. Doesn't hurt to check…" He shrugged and Zane nodded.

"But first, I should get us something to eat. I hope you don't mind. I've picked up hunting a little for meals." He pointed out and Kai grinned, showing off sharp fangs Zane didn't miss.

"Well what do you know? So have I…" He hummed, summoning one of his sword.

____________

"Mmm! I won't lie, I've missed your cooking Zane." Cole grinned as he leaned back, stomach pleasantly full.

"And I won't lie. I missed cooking for my friends." Zane smiled as his Falcon preened itself from his own meal.

He seems to like the fact he's able to function and eat like a true bird of prey. He enjoys hunting a lot and often spares Zane from hunting by bringing back ninja rabbits and more.

"We might as well hunker down for the night. We'll go out looking for Jay and Nya tomorrow." Kai says, taking the plates to the small kitchenette on reflex.

He was always after Zane in the plate duties.

"Uh. I'm not sure the bed can hold." Cole says, looking down at the bed they were using as a couch.

"Oh I don't sleep up here." Zane says and they turned to look at him.

"Up here?" Both Cole and Kai asked him at the same time.

The Falcon squawked as it flew out from his perch then landed on the ground in the middle of the room. It then pecked the ground and a circular piece of the floor sunk down before the ground began to collapse down into a spiral staircase supported by ice.

"Woah." Cole says as he stood then headed down, awing at the huge room filled with ice and crystals.

There was a work table at one corner, a small library in the other, a sort of living space everywhere else and two different sets of birch doors on opposite sides of the walls.

"The door to the right leads to the bathroom and the one to the left leads to the sleeping areas." Zane informed Cole as he came down the steps, Cole looking around in awe.

"This place is way cool…" Cole says in awe as he walked over to the large white couch that had a light gray fur blanket thrown over the back. "How did you even afford all of this?" He asked Zane, looking to the Nindroid who only smiled secretively.

"I have my ways." He says lightly.

"Woah. This is epic. Makes my Fire Temple look like nothing!" Kai says as he came down as well, drying his hands still.

"Actually, I'd say your fire temple would be slightly above Zane's place here but only because of the gold and red scheme." Cole says lightly, flopping down on the couch. "What are the chances of you having a TV?" Cole asked, sitting in an actual couch making him realise how much he missed the device.

"It's certain." Zane says, picking up the remote from the ice table before it and pressing a button.

A panel in the ground shifted back and the flat screen tv came up, turning on once it was fully out.

"No seriously. Where do you get the money for this?" Kai asked, flopping down next to Cole as he accepted the remote.

"Well…" Zane says, thinking back to when he first arrived, distraught to see the forest with barely an inch of snow.

He had rectified that immediately with a snowstorm but the lack of thick snow revealed bits of valuable rock crystals he broke from the soil and stone…

"Let's just say I got lucky." He says, walking past them to pick up the small piece he kept for himself then tossed it towards them.

Cole caught it without looking then brought it into his line of sight.

"Oh. Nice." He says, looking over the clear crystal with Kai and Zane smiles.

____________

"See if you can find the others." Zane told his Falcon the next day and the ivory bird of prey squawked then flew off from Zane's arm, taking air and flying far.

"With the Falcon, we should be able to find everyone quicker." Cole says as he and Kai walked over. "Who knows? Maybe he'll find Lloyd." He grinned.

"For some reason, I don't think finding Lloyd will be that easy." Kai says and Zane nodded his agreement.

"We should get going. We have a long journey ahead of us." Zane says and they nod, taking flight themselves.

____________

"Ah. Now that I'm here, I'm kinda nervous…" Cole says as they walked towards the junkyard.

"I know what you mean." Kai says with a weak laugh.

"All we can do is put our faith in their understanding." Zane says, being the pillar they needed as support, despite his unstableness.

He too feared how they would react, feared even more Jay wouldn't be as forgiving as Kai and Cole.

"Let's get this over with." Kai says, lifting his chin stubbornly and Cole nods, all of them quickening their steps as they walked into the junkyard.

The first thing he noticed was Edna seated outside knitting as Ed worked on something close by. Edna lifted her head then saw them and gasped, all hut scrambling out of her chair towards them, startling the three.

"Where is he? Where's my Jay?!" She asked them urgently and their spirits fell, realising that he really wasn't there.

"Actually, we were hoping you could tell us. We're looking for him ourselves." Cole says quietly, wincing once tears welled up in Edna's eyes.

"Oh Edna…" Ed says as he walked over, pulling her into a hug as she cries into his shoulder. "He hasn't stopped by. We've been hoping he would after everything that happened but…" The elderman gave a sigh.

"He will visit." Zane spoke up and they all looked to him. "If not on his own then we'll bring him. We'll find him and bring him back to you." He reassured, walking forward to rest a comforting hand on Ed's free shoulder.

"You-" Edna paused to hiccup. "You will?" She asked him hopefully.

"It's a promise." Kai says before Zane could and they all nodded their agreement.

"When you do find him, tell him…" Ed says then took a breath. "Tell him we know. But he isn't to blame." He says quietly and Cole's back stiffened at his sincere words.

"It's none of your faults. You're all ninja. You would never have let what happened happen if you had control over it." Edna says and Ed nodded. "It may not mean much from us but… You're all still the ninja we know and love." She managed a smile, brushing stray tears away.

"You know it!" Ed grinned but their words really did impact all three of them hard.

They didn't believe it. Won't for a very long time if ever but… Having two persons that believed in them still was...

"It means more than you think." Cole says, managing a smile. "Thank you. We'll bring Jay back. Don't worry." He reassured them and the elderly couple nodded, smiles bright and full of hope.

With that, the three took off again to continue their search. They may not have the slightest clue to where Jay was but that won't stop them from fulfilling their promise.

__________

An entire day had passed with no signs of anyone but they didn't stop searching, going anywhere with a remote chance that any member from the other half of their team would be. They did run into a familiar two in a remote village however.

"Hold it." Ash says, appearing before the three. "Cole, Zane, Kai." He immediately identified and they looked at him wide eyed.

Despite their hoods being down and despite the hat Kai snatched along the way, they were still easily spotted.

"Oh? Interesting to see you three here." Shade commenting, appearing from the shadows himself. "What are your plans now? Rip the village apart with your earth powers? Freeze it? Burn it to the ground?" He all but accused and all of them looked hurt at that.

"Look pal. We didn't do any of that on purpose. You don't even know our side of the story!" Kai huffed, glaring Shade down.

"Defensive aren't we?" Shade says, lifting a brow.

"So what? You accidentally ripped Ninjago apart and caused continent wide destruction?" Ash snarked and Cole tried not to let his words hit him too deep but it was hard…

A low rumble echoed as a slight tremor passed through, alarming the other two elementals and putting them on edge.

"Watch it Cole, we'll put you down if we have to." Shade says, narrowing his eyes.

"You've already put me down." Cole says, half-heartedly glaring at him.

"Look. Clearly this village hasn't seen hide not tail of the others. Let's go before I do something I'll regret." Kai ssys, shooting the element masters a glare.

"We aren't intentional enemies. Right now, we just want our friends back." Zane says quietly before they took off, soaring through the sky with their cloak, cape and coat fluttering behind them.

"Ugh of course they'd think we did this all on purpose. They won't even consider things from our side!" Kai growled, frustratedly as he began to glow red with his anger and hurt.

"We can't let them get to us Kai. We know the truth. It may not be much but we have each other to lean on, even if all of Ninjago turns its back on us." Zane says, looking at them both.

"Yeah…" Cole says softly, keeping his eyes ahead. "It's not much but…"

He looked across at his friends, his brothers and managed a genuine smile.

"It's enough." He whispered.

___________

"Where else can we look?" Cole asked later on as they took a break for a snack as the sunset.

"I'm not sure." Zane says, frowning. "We've checked everywhere we could think of that they would most likely and unlikely to be. Despite our powers, tracking down one of our own is not an easy task." He says, leaning back as Cole and Jay slurped their noodles.

"Tell me about it." Kai says after swallowing. "If o-" Kai cut himself off once he noticed rain starting to fall.

"Oh? But there's no cloud in the sky." Zane says with a frown, reaching a hand out to touch the rain seeming to fall around them.

"Wait a minute…" Cole says as Kai's eyes widened.

"Nya?!" Kai asked eagerly, looking around to see if she was there.

"Who?" A guy asked as he paused in his walk by the cliff on the outskirts of Hiroshi's Labyrinth, holding an umbrella.

"Oh. Sorry, not you." Cole apologised, as disappointed as Zane was.

Kai on the other hand looked at the figure carefully then smirked.

"You'll have to try harder than that to fool me Nya." He huffed, confusing his friends.

The male chuckled, his voice rising in pitch and becoming feminine, clearly belonging to Nya.

"I should have known you'd see through me big brother." She says, shifting back to her true looks.

She adorned a close fitting dark blue bodysuit that only had one sleeve and a semi-transparent lighter blue material over it that parted at her covered stomach, extending backwards as a short trail. The bodysuit ended mid thigh on her body as she wore blue matching slippers that criss crossed up her strong calves. She even added several small but colourful seashells to her clothes as well as her hair.

"Nya!" Kai grinned, scrambling to his feet to hug his sister.

"Long time no see." Nya grinned, hugging him back.

"Indeed. But, how did you find us?" Zane asked as he and Cole approached the duo.

"A little birdie gave me a tip. White looks good on the little fella." Nya says as she and Kai pulled back.

"Here's to hoping he finds Jay along the way." Cole says, hugging her too and she smiled then paused.

"You haven't found Jay? Are you trying to get everyone back together?" She asked them.

"No, we haven't found him as yet. Locating everyone is a means of checking up… And an opportunity to become ninja again if we're all willing." Zane told her and Nya frowned.

"That's strange. I thought out of all of us, he'd be the easiest to find." She says then frowned, recalling the moment they split. "Then again…" She whispered to herself.

"We'll find him. Then we'll find Lloyd and we'll all be a unit again." Kai reassures her and she smiled at him.

"... Still gold crazy I see." She says dryly and Kai sputtered.

"It's a very compliant metal." He huffed defensively and she laughed along with the others.

"It's dark. We should probably find somewhere to settle down for the night." Zane spoke as he looked towards the sea where the sun had disappeared.

"You guys can stay with me." Nya says, intriguing them. "Follow me." She urged, taking flight.

__________

"I'd never even consider here." Cole says as Nya lead them inside her humble cave-esque abode at the Spirit Coves.

"Exactly." She says then flicked the lights on.

Naturally the massive underground sea carved cave looked like the Samurai X cave but noticeably homier. To one side of the cave, there was completed vehicles and gadgets, at another was blueprints, tools and half finished projects and at the final corner had a cozy living space with a couch set, TV, kitchen and a discreet bedroom hidden by curtains, all placed around pools of seawater that no doubt lead out to the sea. The shells and sea plants made it more appealing to the eye however.

"I don't have spare beds but the couches are big enough and comfortable enough to hold you guys." She says as she headed towards the living space to her right.

"Forget that! Are those new mechs?!" Kai says, leaping over the large pool of water to land on the display platform of the uncoloured mech.

"Yeah. But they aren't for us. We don't need them. Not with these powers." Nya says, changing course to head over to where he was, Zane and Cole following her.

"Then… Who are they for?" Cole asked her as they all stood before the mech.

"The other elementals." She says quietly. "They had to take our place and I've seen first hand that it isn't easy. So I thought I'd use my skills to help them instead." She shrugged and Kai gave her shoulder a squeeze, giving her a proud smile she returned.

"That's a great idea Nya. Once we round Jay and Lloyd up, you bet we'll help you and them out too." Kai says, grinning at his friends when they agreed.

"Anyone up for seafood?" She asked after a moment.

"I thought you'd never ask." Cole grinned and they all laughed.

___________

Three days have passed with the four looking everywhere they could for Jay and even with Nya's help gadget wise, they were out of luck. They couldn't find any signs of Jay. It was as if he had fallen off the map. It made them… Worried. But they never gave up. They started each day with determination. Kai, Cole and Zane made a promise to his parents they intended to keep.

"Ok, so he's not at the lightning farm. Where else haven't we checked?" Cole asked them.

"We've already covered the entire northern half of the continent with no success. The southern remains." Zane informed him and Cole only nods, refusing to let frustration take him.

"Alright. While Lloyd would probably be able to find him quickly, let's not give up. His parents are still waiting to see him after all and I'll be damned if I break my promise to them." Kai says determinedly.

"If we split up, we-"

"Hold on." Zane says, cutting Nya off as his eyes glowed even brighter.

They watched him as he remained quiet and assessing before finally speaking.

"My Falcon found him." He says and they gasped.

"Well what are we waiting for?! Let's go!" Cole says, lifting off his feet.

"Right. Keep your eyes sky bound. He's resting on a cloud over central Ninjago, just a few short miles away." Zane says, taking flight as well, leading the way.

______

Jay yawned as he laid on a beanbag sized cloud, his legs and arms hanging off but he doesn't really care. He ran out of things to do and explore quick. He's been drifting around on random clouds just because, switching to another whenever the original dissipates. He pushed back his curly hair from his face as he passed under a slightly higher cloud, really appreciating the coolness that passed over him.

_ I should probably wear sunscreen… _

Though he knew he didn't have to. He's been floating around on clouds for about a month now and the sun hadn't changed his skin tone or burned him in anyway. Sure with his outfit; a blue sleeveless turtleneck shirt pulled over slightly darker blue leggings with a waist cape and blue combat boots, coveted him plenty but his arms were still pretty much exposed. He knew he didn't have to but it was a sort of reflex thought for him.

Once the cloud passed, he blinked, realising there was a tiny white cloud circling him from above. No. Wait. That's a bird. Weird. Why was it circling him? He sat up then stood on the cloud, frowning as he looked up at it. He blinked once it swooped down, letting out a very familiar squawk.

"... The Falcon?" Jay whispered but shook his head.

That can't be right. The Falcon isn't white and it looked far more… Mecha than that. But it really does look like it. Is it? He stuck his arm out, blinking once the falcon landed on it, looking at him with a tilted head, eyes unnaturally blue and mechanical upon closer view. Oh yeah. It's the Falcon.

"Hey buddy! Woah! You sure did get an upgrade!" Jay says, looking him over and the Falcon puffed its feathers up proudly.

Jay laughed then stroked the soft feathers of its head- then blinked as something came to mind.

"Hey. If you're here, then-"

"Jay!" He blinked then turned around- only to be tackled into a hug, a startled yelp leaving him. "Oh man! I was actually getting worried we wouldn't find you!" Cole laughed as Jay gathered his bearings from his crushing hug.

"Cole?! What are you doing here?!" Jay finally managed to sputter out.

"Looking for you obviously." Kai huffed with a grin and Jay looked over Cole's shoulder to see him, Zane and Nya floating over.

"You guys… But… I don't get it. What are you doing here?" He asked as Cole finally let him go.

"We wanted to check in on you." Kai says, pulling him into a hug and Jay blinked but hugged back.

"You're surprisingly hard to find, you know that, right?" Nya says, hugging him as well.

"Not intentionally." Jay says sheepishly, shock giving away to happiness. "Man, I missed you guys." He admitted, not even realizing how lonely he was until now.

"Missed you too yah nerd." Cole laughed as they all came in for a group hug.

"We also came to fulfil a promise we made." Zane spoke up and Jay looked to him curiously.

"Yeah." Kai nods. "You see, while we were looking for you, we checked in with your parents to see if they would know…" His voice tuned out to Jay as mortification filled him.

"I can't!" Jay says, cutting off Kai's explanation. "I can't see them! Are you crazy?! Not when I've- I've-!" He sputtered then gripped his arm tightly as he looked away. 

The group shared a concerned look.

"It's not like that Jay." Cole says softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "They know, of course they do but they know it's not your fault. That it's not any of our faults." He told him but Jay scoffed, not believing that.

_ 'When you do find him, tell him…' _ Jay's head jolted up to hear his father's voice.

He looked to Zane, watching as he projected a hologram of his parents before them. He noticed his mother, Edna and how sad she looked. How sad they both looked. It squeezed his heart painfully.

_ 'Tell him we know. But he isn't to blame.' _ The hologram of Ed says and Jay unconsciously floated closer.

_ 'It's none of your faults. You're all ninja. You would never have let what happened happen if you had control over it.' _ Edna says next and Ed nodded.  _ 'It may not mean much from us but… You're all still the ninja we know and love.' _ She managed a smile, brushing stray tears away as a tear fell down Jay's cheek watching them.

_'You know it!'_ Ed grinned as more tears fell down Jay's cheeks.

_'It means more than you think.'_ Cole's voice came, the hologram just showing his parents still. _'Thank you. We'll bring Jay back. Don't worry.'_ He reassured them and his parents nodded, smiles bright before Zane cut the transmission.

"Jay…" Nya says softly, floating over to give his shoulder a comforting squeeze.

"Could we…" Jay spoke up then sniffled. "Could we go now?" He asked in a small voice.

"Of course." Zane says then reached his hand out to him.

Jay slid his hand into his, holding onto it then took Nya's. Kai took hers as Cole took Zane's as the Falcon landed on Zane's shoulder. In a flash of lightning, they all vanished.

_______

"Finally finished." Ed says as he stepped back, smiling at the large, metallic statue of his son, the seems welded together and pressed flat to give it a smoother finish.

He sighed as he looked it over. It only made him miss his son even more.

"Have faith Ed. The other ninja will find him." Edna says as she walked over, giving his hand a squeeze.

"I know they will." He says with a small smile then pressed a kiss to her forehead.

A bright flash of light followed by a loud clap of thunder broke through their moment, startling the duo. They turned around towards the Junkyard entrance and Ed's blowtorch fell from his hand to see five of the ninja there, including…

"Jay…" Ed whispered as the lightning ninja, their son looked at him almost shyly.

"Hi mom… Dad…" He spoke quietly.

That was all the couple needed.

"Jay!" Edna yelled as they both rushed forward, pulling their son into a tight hug.

The ninja watched the heartfelt reunion, their hearts twinging as Jay began sobbing, repeating sorry over and over again, even as his parents comforted him, telling him he wasn't to blame. It made them think about their own parents. While Zane's father was gone, he knew without a doubt he would say the same and the thought warmed his core. Cole saw the disappointed look on his father's face before he left to the underworld. He knew he blamed him and it hurt deeply. Nya and Kai… They wondered what their parents would think. They haven't visited in so long… And even before then, they don't know them very well to even guess what they might think. Both siblings shared a look. Maybe they should visit soon…

__________

Kai sat alone outside that night, atop a pile of scrap metal. The moon was almost full in the sky as stars glittered about. It was really beautiful out. It reminds him of nights he spent at the fire temple gazing up at it with the temple itself opened all the way up. He didn't use the upper levels which made his skylight possible from the ground floor. But now that the others were around, maybe he should renovate when he gets back. For now, it's just…

"What's with the long face?" Nya asked as she landed soundlessly beside him, sitting against the hood of the old car as well.

"Oh. I didn't tell you or Jay yet." Kai says, glancing across at the now confused Nya. "I've had company back at the Fire Temple. They're four dragons I made somehow." He says and Nya looked intrigued.

"I figured they're different parts of a flame. Or different colours really." He says, creating a flame in his hand. "There's Flare, Spark, Solaris and Heath's the youngest." He says, separating the different colours as he listed them to describe them so he had red, orange, yellow-gold and blue flames burning separately before allowing them to vanish.

"If you made them then they sound like a handful." Nya says with a small smile.

"Surprisingly, they're all well behaved. Flare is a bit of a softie. He's still figuring out standing up for himself. Spark is eager and always ready to play. She's headstrong and accidentally bully's Flare most days. She's really sweet and confident though. Solaris is the quiet one- Skies above. I can't use that term without flashbacks." Kai says with a grimace but pushed the memories back and pushed forward. "She's curious about everything but wouldn't go off on her own. She usually sticks close to Heath. Speaking of, Heath my be the youngest by about a minute when compared to Flare, but he's overprotective of them all, even though he acts all cool like his colour and intimidating. He's a jerk but he'd never do anything intentionally harmful. Maybe lick me or take up my best when he has his own but nothing too harmful. I left him in charge. I know he'll keep everyone together and safe but…" He trailed off as Nya watched him.

"But you miss them." She said for him and he looked at her before nodding.

"They're still young. Three months old to be exact. I would bring them but I want them to grow a little more first. Get stronger. They're great fliers so far but they still get tired pretty quickly compared to our elemental dragons when we had them." He says, looking out again.

"They'll get there soon enough. Don't worry." Nya says, giving his shoulder s squeeze and he sighed then nodded.

"Yeah. You're right." He says and she smiled.

"Come on. Dinner's ready." She says as she stood.

"Nice." He says, accepting her hand and she pulled him up. "Do you think Lloyd's alright?" He asked her as they headed towards the trailer home.

"Yeah. Lloyd's a smart kid. He's safe at least." She reassured.

______________

"Well, it's time." Cole says the next day as they all stood outside the trailer, night now upon them.

"You promise to visit every once in awhile?" Edna asked, nervous to let Jay go again.

"Once a week at least. I promise." Jay reassured his parents, back to his old self mostly now that some of the guilt they all should has been lifted off his shoulders.

"Good. Now go find your friend." Ed smiled and they all hugged.

"I'll do the honors." Kai says as he stepped forward then allowed his hands to glow red.

Seconds later, small fireballs shot across the sky at random intervals as Zane stepped forward, his hands glowing light blue and they watched in awe as the same blue coloured the full moon. Nya summoned her powers and grinned at the blue toned rainbow around the full moon. Jay took his cue and summoned his powers, allowing light began to flash across the sky. Cole's hands glowed as well, creating low thunder that echoed across the sky. They all waited with bated breath- then grinned once the bright green aurora borealis streaked across the sky.

"Quick! Follow it!" Nya yelled and they all took off as quick as they could, following the aurora towards the source.

"It seems to extend beyond the shores of Ninjago." Zane says, plotting the space between what he could read and the land.

"Crap, it's disappearing!" Kai yelled as they flew quicker, the aurora visibly weakening.

"Zane can you track the origin location?" Jay asked him and the Nindroid remained quiet over the wind as they darted quickly through the sky.

"Nononono! No!" Cole yelled as it flickered away to nothing, leaving them just over the beach with no sure direction to go.

It wasn't as if the aurora ran in an exact straight line after all.

"That won't be a problem. I've located the area where the aurora originates." Zane says and they all sighed, relieved.

"Well? Where is he?" Nya asked him.

"... The Dark Island." Zane informed them and they all looked at him horrified.

"The- the Dark Island?! Why there of all places?!" Jay sputtered.

"Think about it though. No-one lives at the Dark Island. No chance of hurting anyone if his powers slip up. It's perfect." Kai says but wore a frown that showed that he wasn't happy about it.

"Forget that for now. Let's actually get going. We'll discuss when we get there and make sure he's ok." Cole says and they nodded, taking Jay's hand then each other's.

They vanished in a flash of light then reappeared in the remains of Garmadon's old camp on the island.

"Nice place to start." Kai says and Zane immediately went to check the pool of dark matter.

"Untouched it appears. I don't see any recent footsteps so he hasn't come this way." Zane informed them.

"Ok. He isn't here. Cool. But if he isn't right here, where else would he go?" Jay asked and they all paused to think then gasped.

"The Temple of Light!" They all blurted.

In the next few seconds, they arrived before the temple that looked noticeably shinier. They shared a look before Cole pushed the door open. They all peered inside then gawked at the sight before them. Inside was actually furnished and looked homey. The bell and space below was obviously a meditative area with the area around it holding tables, strange yet beautiful flowers, scrolls on a shelf, paintings and a seating area, a single, large couch turned towards a tv with a gaming station. The lanterns inside bathed the area in soft, golden lights. On the couch was Lloyd, fast asleep. He wore a green hoodie that was a size too large as well as gold coloured sweatpants. His hair was all ruffled up but what really surprised the ninja was who he was sleeping against. Lloyd was comfortable asleep with his head in Garmadon's lap.

They couldn't say which Garmadon since this one had all the black skin, markings and four arms of Lord Garmadon… But the gray hair and soft expression of Sensei Garmadon. Said man looked at them from the corner of their eyes and lifted a finger to his lips to hush them while beaconing them in with another hand.

The group shared a bewildered and confused look but they did come in, carefully and quietly closing the large door behind them.

"... I have several questions." Jay whispered and Lord Sensei Garmadon only smiled.

"All will be answered in due time." He whispered back. "For now, rest. Lloyd has had a long day." He says, stroking his son's hair fondly.

The team shared another look before shrugging. They grabbed folded blankets from the basket on the table as cushions from the couch then found comfortable spots on the ground to settle down for the night. They all chose to settle relatively close to the father-son duo, keeping in close contact with each other.

Kai had no clue how Sensei G became Lord Sensei G or how he got him to be almost normal again OR how he even found him to begin with, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. After everything they've been through, Lloyd deserves a break from everything. He yawned as his eyes began to fall shut.

Infact, they all do.


End file.
